UPCOMING PUBLIC MEETINGS TO BE HELD IN COLORADO AND WYOMING
ON PROPOSED CRITICAL HABITAT FOR THE
PREBLES MEADOW JUMPING MOUSE

As part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services proposal to designate habitat
critical for the Prebles meadow jumping mouse, a threatened species, it will hold
public meetings in Colorado and Wyoming. Provided at each meeting will be a short
presentation to describe the critical habitat that is being proposed, followed by an
opportunity for the public to ask questions and a formal hearing to record comments and
official statements. All meetings will start at 5:00 p.m. and end at 9:00 p.m. Exact
locations include:

Comments may also be mailed by September 16, 2002, to the Services Ecological
Service office at 755 Parfet Street, Suite 361, Lakewood, Colorado 80215. Comments may
also be electronically submitted to fw6_pmjm@fws.govby the same date.

"The designation of critical habitat for the Prebles meadow jumping mouse
will help focus federal, state, and private management efforts in areas that are important
to the

conservation of this mouse," said Ralph Morgenweck, the Services Director of
the Mountain-Prairie Region. "The Service will make a final decision on the proposed
designations only after considering the economic impacts and receiving input from the
public," Morgenweck added.

The proposed designation includes 19 habitat units in four counties in Wyoming and
seven counties in Colorado. In Wyoming, approximately 240 miles of stream (20,000 acres)
are proposed as critical habitat in the counties of Albany, Converse, Laramie and Platte
of which 22 percent is on state or federal lands. In Colorado, 450 miles of stream (40,000
acres) in Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Teller, and Weld counties are
being proposed. Approximately 48 percent of Colorados proposed critical habitat is
on state and federal land.

The Prebles meadow jumping mouse is closely associated with riparian ecosystems,
which are those narrow areas of land that are adjacent to streams, creeks or rivers.

As a listed species under the Endangered Species Act, the Prebles meadow jumping
mouse is already protected wherever it occurs and federal agencies are required to consult
on any action they take that might affect the species. While designation of critical
habitat for the Prebles meadow jumping mouse adds little or no additional
protection, it does contribute to its conservation by helping federal agencies determine
when and where they must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service before undertaking
actions that may destroy or adversely modify the species habitat.

The Prebles meadow jumping mouse was listed as a threatened species in 1998. By
law, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is required to designate critical habitat for a
species when it is listed as threatened or endangered unless it is not prudent or not
determinable. As a result of a court settlement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was
required to propose critical habitat by June 4, 2002, and designate it by June 4, 2003.

"Critical habitat" refers to specific geographic areas that contain habitat
features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and that
require special management considerations. Critical habitat only applies to situations
where federal funding or a federal permit is involved. Designation of critical habitat
does not affect private landowners undertaking a project on private land that does not
involve a federal action, funding or require a federal permit or authorization.